Week Ahead: January 9, 2017

It’s amazing how fast a semester can fly!  Congratulations on a great first semester.  As you head into the holiday break, take a minute to reflect on and celebrate the work you’ve done with your colleagues and with kids.  Then kick back and relax … or gear up and hike, bike, and enjoy nature … or what ever it is that recharges your batteries!  Happy holidays to you all!

Here is what’s up when we get back:

Monday, Jan. 9
Curriculum / Department Work day

Tuesday, Jan. 10
Day 7, DABC (DEAR)

Wednesday, Jan. 11
Day 8, HEFG (DEAR)
3:15-4:30 Divisional Meeting, Library

Thursday, Jan. 12
Day 9, ABCD (Adv-Tet Activity)
8:15-9:15 Principal’s Coffee

Friday, Jan. 13
Day 10, EFGH (DEAR)

Upcoming (on the radar)

• January 20 – PTA/MS StuCo Lock In
• January 27 – February 5 – Tet holiday
• February 8-12 – MRISA Arts Exchange
• February 9-12 – HS MRISA BBall Tournament Hosted at SSIS
• February 17 – PD Day, no students
• February 18-19 – Vietnam Tech Conference

Welcoming New Hires:  Though it still isn’t the time to announce departing faculty to our students … it is time to make a few hiring announcements.  We are pleased to announce the following hires for the 17-18 school year:

• Priscila Schochet has been hired to teach Spanish for us next year.  She is currently at the American School of Dubai and will be coming with her husband, Sean, who has been hired as a high school counselor.
• Erin Lu has been hired to teach Mandarin for us next year.  She comes from Shanghai Community International School and this will be her first international posting.
• Erin Johnson will be moving to the MS to teach English Language Arts, Digital Literacy and Exploratory Writing.  She has been teaching 5th grade at SSIS for the past 3 years.  We are very excited to have her join us and take a new step in her career.

ELLSA Conference Early Bird Sign Ups:  Early Bird registration has been extended to Dec. 16; cost $230 (and as always SSIS PD funds can be used for this conference).  Several of the presenters and workshops are already posted on the ELLSA Conference Website.  It looks as though there are already some great presentations and topics that would impact student learning at SSIS. The theme of the conference is: English Proficiency: Moving Beyond the Plateau with a focus on Academic Language, Fossilized Errors and Assessment.  They are also looking for a few more presenters.  Talk to Stacy if you are interested.

Vietnam Tech Conference Sign Ups: . We all have a fantastic PD opportunity coming in February!  We are hosting the Vietnam Tech Conference.  This regional conference has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years.  In addition, this year, there will be a number of presentations offered in Vietnamese for our local staff and teaching assistants.  We hope you all will consider attending.  The Vietnam Tech Conference is February 18-19, 2017 here at SSIS.  Register here, only US$100!  PD request form also.